Bringing you news and insights about Tribal Art, its creators and its collectors.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

What is a Zuni Six Direction Set?

Native American Fetish carving is a
pains-taking, dirty, difficult and demanding activity, often taken
for granted by the excellence of the outcome.

From the detail
of carvers such as Brian Yatsattie and Wilfred Cheama to the
abstraction of Melvin Sandoval and Lynn Quam to the natural
inspiration of Salvador Romero and Wilson Romero, there is much to
love and be awed by.

In the pantheon of fetish carvers, a
special place is held by those who carve Six Direction sets

Award Winning six directions carving in onyx by Jeff Shetima

These Six
Directions sets capture the spirit of ancient Zuni belief of six
creatures that were charged by the Creator with protection of the
Zuni people from threats from the North, West, East, South, above and
below.

The mountain lion in the North, the
bear in the West, the badger in the south, the wolf in the East., the
eagle above and the mole below. Each as selected for the innate
power, strength and cunning as percieved by the Zuni people.

They mayu be presented by a carver in
several ways. Some carvers chooseto presnet all six in a single
carving (with the mole occasionally included as a seperate carvind
lodge in the underside to the stone specimen.). Another format uses a
single large creature with five smaller creatures secured to the
larger carving with sinew or wax string. A third approach is to carve
each protective animal as a single creature and gather the six as a
set.

Each carver has a different artistic vision reflected in
a different stylistic approach. Perhaps it is the seriousness of the
subject matter but a six direction set seems never to be taken on as
anything but the highest calling of the carver.